Health of Children

Jake Tucker
February 19, 2013
English 305T
Dr. Robert Goldbort

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

Physical and mental health of children and adolescents are becoming extremely important to many people, without the attention given to this matter we wouldn’t be benefiting the children right now who will one day be in charge taking our place. In this report we will look at what importance’s physical activity can have and what surroundings are affecting children’s physical and mental health. There are a variety of things that affect the health of children. One of my studies I found that different types of advertising greatly affect the physical health of children. Soda advertisements are greatly affecting children in highly populated neighborhoods (Lenard, et al. 15). The children don’t realize that the things that they are consuming at a young age can have serious effects on them as they grow older. Sleep deprivation is something else that can greatly effecting children. This lack of sleep isn’t coming from the children though, it is coming from the parents. Parent’s lack of sleep is affecting their moods and they may be taking out their frustrations either physically, mentally, or emotionally on their children (Chapman, et al. 33). There are many more ways that children’s health is being affected and everyone needs to be aware of what these things may be. Although some of these things may seem very harmless to us we need to know that they are greatly affecting the youth in our world. I searched through the ISU main library’s ProQuest database, I have searched these keywords “children health” and “physical activity among children.” I found articles in multiple journals but a couple of the ones that I found to be most helpful were, “Effectiveness of a physical activity intervention for head start preschoolers: A randomized intervention study” and “Outdoor advertising, obesity, and soda consumption: A cross-sectional study”. A couple weeks ago I sent an inquiry letter to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention requesting and hoping that they would be able to give me exceptional sources for my studies. Here are the sources that I plan to use in my report.
IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG YOUNG CHILDREN
“Effectiveness of a physical intervention for head start preschoolers: A randomized intervention study” discusses the importance of physical activity among children starting at a very young age. Children who are physically active at a young age have already set a starting block for themselves and their health. Everyone could agree with the statement that children who are active have a much better opportunity to be healthier physically at the time of their young childhood and further into their lives as well. The analysis also shows that children who are head start preschoolers already are giving themselves an advantage over children who are not attending these head start programs. There are programs that children can be admitted to that will also help them with their physical activity level. Head start programs are what these programs are commonly referred too. Although a lot of people view these head start programs as just your typical daycare that is not just what the head start programs are designed to do. Helping children gain everything they can at such an early age whether it be physically or mentally. When physical activity is included into these head start programs that further advances the children’s mind giving them another leg up over the other children who are not receiving this kind of care. It may not make complete sense that receiving some physical activity will help you grow mentally but having that physical activity in your life will make you work your mind in ways that you might not otherwise.
How much physical activity do children really need? There are many different opinions on what types of physical activity that children need and how long they should be physically active whether it be per day or per week or even per year. I’m sure most people who are concerned at all with the physical activity of children have heard the term “60 minutes a day” or heard of the National Football League’s “Play 60” program which encourages children to get out a play for sixty minutes a day. Although any amount of physical activity at all would obviously be better than none at all, it has been proven that children should get a minimum have 60 minutes of physical activity per day to reach maximum potential, meaning actually gaining physical fitness. Children however do not always have time or for other reasons just can’t receive the 60 minutes of physical activity that is the standard. That however does not mean that they should just give up on the day if they cannot receive what is to be considered satisfactory physical activity. Even receiving thirty minutes of physical activity a day will still receive some of the physical benefits. Fifteen minutes of the right physical activity can also be beneficial, it could be agreed by most that any time being active will be better than none. This table shows some of the different types of activities that are acceptable. Vigorous activities cannot always be achieved, sometimes even doing very simple things although may not be as beneficial can still be very important.
Being physically active can also benefit you mentally Children who are physically active are obviously gaining on a physical level when they are being active but a lot of people do not realize that they are also gaining mentally. This does not mean because your child has been playing basketball for sixty minutes this afternoon that he will automatically be able to do the long division homework that he has been struggling with over the past week. Children do not literally gain intelligence or become more intellectual, they learn to think and work their minds in different ways which they may not do otherwise. Children can gain mentally by being physically active because when you are being active you are still thinking and learning. It may not seem like it at the time but when you are playing a sport or performing any other type of activity your mind is constantly working. Different parts of your brain or being used all the time when you are in the classroom, the same goes when you are being active. Working different parts of the brain will make you think in different ways that may not be the child’s normal way of thinking but that’s how you expand your mind and become more knowledgeable.
SURROUNDINGS AFFECT CHILDREN’S PHYSICAL ACTIVITY There are many different variables that can affect how a child acts and thinks. People do not actually have a full understanding of exactly the things that can affect children even at a very young age. The term that is often used when it comes to how tentative children are, “Their minds are like a sponge” is actually not too far from the truth. Children’s minds are much different than adults, they are able to take in the information and have a much easier time storing it in their long term memory unlike adults who are able to easily put information in their short term memories but not transfer it to their long term memory. It has become very important that people better understand what affects children and how they are personally affecting children.
Parenting is the most important factor The primary surrounding that will affect a child’s physical activity are the people that the child is surrounded by. Parents are the determining factor in a lot of what their child will be like when it comes to this subject matter. If parents do not pay attention to their child’s needs and what it will take for them to be healthy physically and mentally then they aren’t doing their child any good in the short run but especially not doing them any good in the long run. Studies show that parents who do not receive much sleep whether it be because of work or just having a busy schedule tend mistreat their child. This does not mean that they are physically abusing their children but it does mean that they may be ignoring their children’s needs. Children are too young to understand what is really important and where their priorities need to be. The attitudes that parents have towards their children will also affect the way a child acts and where his/her desires will be. Parents need to encourage their children to be physically active and guide them in the right direction. Parents will often be too forceful on their children and make them participate in things that they do not want to do. This can sometimes have a negative affect because they the child will act rebellious and not participate fully in the activity and not be as engaged as they would have been if it were something that they were truly interested in. A secondary group that affects a child’s physical activity level is the group of friends that the child will be with. The group of friends that children hang out with will determine how the child will grow up very much. Children always want to do what they think their friends are doing or what they think is cool or hip at the time. This isn’t always a good thing if your child doesn’t happen to hang out with the “jocks” or the group of friends who are always going to play sports and be as active as possible. That’s where parents can come in and help once again. Parents need to be there to guide their children into a direction that will be most beneficial to them.
Does advertising really affect children’s health?
As we grow older we realize how much advertising is out there and how it affects our everyday lives. Young children however don’t have the full sense of advertising and the affects that it can have on them and their health. In a study, it shows that higher populated areas have a higher percentage of child obesity. There is a direct relationship from this because of the types of advertisements that are put up in more populated neighborhoods. Soda consumption is the biggest advertising market in highly populated areas. Children see different types of advertisements everyday whether it is billboards or in social media. It is obvious though that the children are taking notice of these soda advertisements and then purchasing these products they are seeing. Are the soda companies at a blame for childhood obesity? The answer to that question is no, soda companies are not to blame for childhood obesity. They are simply doing their jobs and what it takes to make a dollar. Should we expect children to know what is okay for them to consume? Children should know to an extent what they should be consuming, yes there are many advertisements that could entice children to consume soda and other things that are not benefiting them but there are equally as many advertisements preaching the importance of healthy eating and getting the proper amount of exercise.
CONCLUSION
From the research that I gathered I came to the conclusion that a child’s health whether it is physically or mentally really relies on all the outside factors that they are around every day. Parents are they main key in all of this, parents need to control what their children are around on an everyday basis. If the children have an understanding of what is right and wrong or good and bad they could better prepare themselves. If we all as adults in this world could realize the affects that we have on children on all levels it could make this world a much safer and healthier place for our children.

References
Bellows, L. L., Davies, P. L., Anderson, J., & Kennedy, C. (2013). “Effectiveness of a physical activity intervention for head start preschoolers: A randomized intervention study”. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 67(1), 28-36.
Chapman, D. P., Liu, Y., Presley-Cantrell, L., Edwards, V. J., Wheaton, A. G., Perry, G. S., & Croft, J. B. (2013). “Adverse childhood experiences and frequent insufficient sleep in 5 U.S. states, 2013: A retrospective cohort study”. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 3.
Lenard, I. L., Frederick, J. Z., & Deborah, A. C. (2013). “Outdoor advertising, obesity, and soda consumption: A cross-sectional study”. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 20.
Pelegrini, A., Diego Augusto, S. S., Adroaldo Cezar, A. G., & Edio, L. P. (2013). “Comparison of three criteria for overweight and obesity classification in Brazilian adolescents”. Nutrition Journal, 12(1), 5.
Puolakka, K., Kirsi-Maria Haapasalo-Pesu, Kiikkala, I., Päivi Åstedt-Kurki, & Paavilainen, E. (2013). “Using grounded theory to create a substantive theory of promoting schoolchildren's mental health”. Nurse Researcher, 20(3), 22-7.
Shetgiri, R., Lin, H., Rosa, M. A., & Flores, G. (2012). Parental characteristics associated with bullying perpetration in US children aged 10 to 17 years. American Journal of Public Health, 102(12), 2280-2286.